Centre asks state officials to crackdown on milk adulteration

The Centre has directed state food commissioners to crackdown on milk adulteration by installing testing equipments and taking random sampling every month at village levels. 

Union Ministers of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat recently held a meeting to discuss the issue of adulteration of milk and milk products with the state cooperative milk federations, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Food Safety and Standards Authority and state Food Safety Department representatives. 

"MOSs (Minister of States) advised the stakeholders to identify the unscrupulous agents who indulge in adulteration of milk as their business," an official statement said. 

The secretary of Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries issued a direction to all chief secretaries and food commissioners of states to conduct 500 random sampling of milk every month at village level for detecting adulteration particularly of edible oil, sucrose and detergents. 

"This drive will be started immediately and 50,000 samples will be taken countrywide. FSAAI has been advised to follow up on this," the statement said. 

States have been advised to install milk adulteration testing equipments at village level for detection of adulteration by various adulterants, it added. 

"Assistance for this will be provided by DADF under the National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD). Rs 100 crores have been set apart for this," the statement said. 

The government's research body Indian Council of Agricultural Research was directed to enable quick testing methods for testing chemicals, which are not detected by the existing testing machines. 

Uttar Pradesh is being assisted to install 390 milk adulteration testing equipments in 2017-18 at village/District level. Other states are also being encouraged like Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu etc. 

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been directed to develop standards for honey testing as fructose adulteration malpractice is rampant. 

NDDB is setting up a National Honey Testing Laboratory for the purpose with the central government assistance.